“Running is many things
to me: survival, calmness, euphoria, solitude. It is proof of my corporeal
existence, my ability to control my movement through space if not time, and the
obedience, however temporary, of my body to my will. As I run I displace air,
and things come and go around me, and the path moves like a filmstrip beneath
my feet. I remember, as a child, long before video games and the Web, threading
filmstrips into the dinky projector in the school library and peering into
them, turning the knob that advanced the frame at the sound of a beep. I don't
remember anymore what they looked like, what they were about, but I remember
the smell of the library, and the way the beep made me jump every time. I'm
flying now, that golden feeling, as if I could run right into the air, and I'm
invincible, nothing can stop me, nothing can stop me, nothing, nothing,
nothing, nothing.”

- Henry De Tamble, Time
Traveler's Wife -

Yay! I crossed another
to-do in my bucket list. Hahaha.

Last Saturday, my
siblings and I went to Quirino Grandstand to be a part of Philippine Bible Society’s “May They Be One” Fun Run,
another first for the organization. The activity is sort of historic as it
brought together people from various faith-based organizations and sectors to
run for a common cause—to spread God’s message of hope to the Filipino people.
The proceeds of the activity would help fund Bibles set for distribution in
different parts of the country. The PhP350 registration fee is actually equal
to two Bibles already. Ayos diba?!

Since the run will start
by 5:30am, we have to wake up really early. Hahaha. We got up at exactly 4:30am
and took a quick bath so we’ll at least be awake. We hurried to hail a cab that
would take us to the venue since jeepneys are still nowhere to be found plying
our route. When we arrived at Quirino Grandstand, we saw a very big crowd. There
are still long queues for last-minute registration. Wow, dameng gustong
magbigay ng Bible. :DDD

Anyways, I lined up to
get our running shirts. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get the blue- and-
red running shirts; instead, we’re given the white- and- red commemorative
jerseys from the World Youth Fun Run. Ok lang naman, it was way better than the
blue- and- red one. Feeling kase namen mainit sa katawan yung blue-and-red
combi. We pinned our bibs and walked towards the starting line. Egg-cited! Hahaha.

A few more minutes and
hosts Chino Trinidad and a former beauty queen (I wasn’t able to get her name),
emerged from the stage to thank the sponsors and signal the start of the race.
5k runners would have to get to Ospital ng Maynila and return to the grandstand
to complete their route while 3k runners would only have to get to the US
Embassy and vice versa. As soon as the gunshot was fired, my siblings and I
jogged our way until we’re able to get our rhythms. Naks. In short, we ran. :D

Ansayaaaa. We’re
running, jogging and walking when we feel tired. We’re laughing and having fun.
Haha. I felt like flying. I like how the cool breeze is blowing through my face
and how my hair dances with the wind. I felt so free—the inhibitions are slowly
tearing away. Char. Pinagpawisan at nagka-paltos ako. Muntik pa nga ako masuka
dahil tuyung-tuyo na ang lalamunan ko e. Pero it was really fun. True story.

Why the long face, Tetel? Kase najejebs na daw siya. Hahaha. Ew lang.

Of us four, I was the
last to reach the finish line. We ran for more than 30 minutes. Feeling ko
nabawasan taba taba sa katawan ko. Hahahaha. Hello, positive. Hahaha. We should
have lined up for the freebies kaso the line was sooo long so we ended up just
going home. Besides, we’re really hungry, we’re even conjuring images of the
best breakfast ever. Tapa. Dilis. Sinangag. Cold orange juice. Pagdating sa
bahay, wala pang naluto si Ma. Hahaha. Beth had to immediately produce fried
rice; Tel made pineapple juice and I sliced spam for ulam. Ephra ate the failed
banoffee pie (next blog entry). Ma listened to our funny stories and admired
the cute shirts we had.

The end. Hehehe. Sayang
lang, Nik wasn’t here in Manila so she can’t join us. Pa and Ma could have run
too, kaso Pa was asked to go to Puerto Galera and accompany his students on
their retreat/ outing. Next time siguro we’ll run as a family. Ayos. And yes,
we all resolved to join another fun run because, why not. Hahaha.